A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain could most definitely be
considered rapid fire of food. I found myself flung across continents into all
equally bizarre situations with bizarre and new foods. As each page turned a new
scent, or a taste lingered for a moment in front of me before being completely lost. I would consider myself a new food fanatic, but I can’t even
imagine savoring something as new as lamb’s testicles. I’m just not that brave.
Something I do wish is for the time to savor each section of this book; there
is just so much to be said! Furthermore, with each story Bourdain told, a
memory of mine is triggered, and I find myself traveling on my own cook’s
tour. There are two that stand out
the most to me, one is my own travels, and the other is of my boyfriend,
Jordan. I will tell you the least serious first.
My
best friend in the world happened to live in Sydney, Australia. So, when said
best friend said, “Hey Kate, I’m going to be only 7,000 miles away in Paris,” I went. My mom, her friend Becky,
and I flew into London Heathrow only for the two of them to dump me on the
Eurostar with my friend Grace. Long story short, she and I ended up in Paris,
alone, trying to find her godmother’s apartment in Montmartre. An Australian
trying to speak French is even more horrible than an American. Trust me.
Finally, so tired we felt drunk, we ended up on a stone street somewhere
in the 18th in front of her godmother, Christine’s, apartment.
Christine was originally from England, but had French down to a science, and
she made us speak it. When we went out for dinner she made us do the ordering,
wine, cheese, and escargot. She was laughing, because we were going to eat snail
for the first time. There is a video somewhere in Australia of this occurrence,
and I hope Grace can find it so I can post it on here. She and I were half
laughing, half disgusted, chewing on snail that tastes mostly like garlic.
That’s about as food and travel brave as I get.
On the other hand, the
story of the pig, the lamb, the malaria drugs, and the stars reminds me of my
boyfriend’s various “tours” of the Middle East. Jordan did three tours with the
Marines, two to Iraq, one to Afghanistan. I was constantly reminded of the
colorful stories that Jordan shared with me while reading this book.
One, when Jordan was in Iraq he spent time living with Iraqi soldiers
while helping them with construction. Jordan said he witnessed the ceremony of
killing a goat. They gave the goat his last drink of water, and then there was
blood everywhere, they slit the goat’s throat. He describes it in this way that
makes it seem so purposeful, perfect in a way. I’m not even sure I know how to
describe it.
Secondly, the malaria drugs that Bourdain was taking were definitely the
cause for his crazy dreams. Jordan tells me that in Afghanistan they would save
malaria drugs for when they wanted to have ridiculous dreams, on purpose. So,
there’s that.
Lastly, Jordan says the only redeeming quality of Iraq is that the night
sky (like Bourdain describes in Morocco) he says it is absolutely magnificent in the
desert. These are places I wish I could experience, if things were different.
I
don’t know how Bourdain finds himself in some of these situations, but I know
that I am envious. I would even let someone film me in order to go these
places. Yes, I am aware of the soul selling that he describes would not always
be enjoyable. But, to run around Russia, get hammered in Vietnam, or go on a
new version of a bar/tapas crawl in San Sebastian would be completely worth the
hassle. We should see if we can get some money from the school to go on a
similar trip. What do you guys think?
